Chapter 5

She opened the passenger door of her truck and motioned for me to sit. I slipped onto the edge of the fabric feet, with my legs hanging out the door. The night was silent. I heard the faint sounds of the ocean.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled, dropping my gaze. She looked at me quickly, her expression a little surprised and stern.

"Why?"

"It's my fault." I murmured. I learned everything was my fault. To my surprise, she started laughting. I looked up at her.

"It's not you fault. That's just Paul. He's always like that…although he seems to be acting a little strange." She frowned back at the house, then glanced back at me. "That guy really did a job on you, didn't he?" I dropped my gaze again. After a few minutes, she shook her head. "I wouldn't let anyone do that to me."

"I didn't ask for this." I shouted, anger I hadn't known I was harboring seemed to rise up. "I hadn't asked him to do this to me. I wasn't always a push over! He wasn't like this when I first met him." I growled, glaring at her. She looked a little taken aback, but I couldn't stop. "I was recovering from my mom's death and he seemed like a sweet, caring guy! If I would have known he would do this to me, I wouldn't have gone out with him. He was controlling and monstrous and heartless and…" I growled, my voice full of hatred and disgust in what he did to me and what I had become.

"So why did you let him?"

"What choice did I have? By the point I realized what was happening, he took everything away from me, and I couldn't leave or I would be living on the streets. He was one smart sun of a-" I was cut off by another growl that came from behind Leah. We both glanced around her to see the guy who had growled in the house standing behind her with a really tall, thin boy and another, tall, muscular man that was bout twenty.

"Paul. Quit it already. You've already scared the shit out of her." Leah said in a joking tone. I dropped my head but watched them from under my eyelashes. I totally dropped my eyes as I noticed the guy named Paul staring at me intently. I just wanted to go already.

I hopped out of the car, scooting around Leah, and walking around the front of the car.

"Where are you going?" She called from behind me.

"For a walk." Once I got far enough away they can't see me as easily, I switched my steady walk to a jog. I followed the dirt road we followed on the way here, but instead of continuing straight, I followed the sound of the ocean by taking a thin, walking path through a group of trees.

After a few minutes of following the path, I got a little worried I was lost, but I soon saw glimpses of the sea through the thinning trees.

I perched myself on the soft, smooth sand that was unlike the sand we had in Florida. The night was cool, but I didn't mind the slight chill and the mist from the sea floated towards me. I watched the heavy waves wash up on the sea, seeing the moon reflect on the shuttering sea.

I laid on my side and placed my head on my arm, closing my eyes and listening to the sea. The sound was beautiful, calming. I laid there for a while, lightly dozing off at some point.

A warm, soft hand brushed my bangs off my forehead, leaving a tingling trail where our skin touched. Shocked, I slowly opened my eyes and slowly shifted my head to look at the silhouette sitting next to me, his hip slightly toughing the elbow my head rested on. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I recognized him as Paul, the one who had been growling before.

I knew I should have been a little afraid, sitting next to someone who a few minutes ago had growled an me. But, for some odd reason, I felt safer than I had in years. I looked back out at the ocean, and we sat in a comfortable silence as the water reached farther and farther up the sand.

"I'm sorry." He said in a soft, smooth voice. I didn't even look up at him, nor did I know how to respond.

"I got mad…when I saw the bruises. You are… I…" He sighed, frustrated, and I peeked up at him. He was watching me, a frown creasing his brow. Then, he sighed, and his angelic face smoothed out. He looked into my eyes, and a light smile fluttered across his lips. I had a sudden, intense impulse to meet them with my own.

"Aubrey…" He sighed again, turning his intense gaze to the sea.